


Unexpected Beginnings

by Elementhyde



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, character history, gentleman arthur morgan, mary-beth remembers meeting arthur, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 04:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elementhyde/pseuds/Elementhyde
Summary: Mary-Beth remembers how she met and fell for Arthur. Ask request from Tumblr





	Unexpected Beginnings

The song ended and Arthur instinctively dropped his hand, wishing he could let it linger on Mary-Beth’s waist. He had genuinely been thrown off when she asked him to dance, surely she could have asked one of the younger men in camp, but she had come up to him as he returned to his tent. His other hand still held her hand, respectively thanking her for the dance with a quick bow as Dutch had taught him. He waited for her to remove her hand, but her hand remained in his. He finally looked at her face, she was staring at him intently, her face full of questions.

He tried to put her at ease, “Thank you for the dance Mary-Beth. I haven’t done that in years. Hopefully I didn’t step on your feet too much.” Dancing had never been his favorite, or something he considered himself to be very skilled in, but he could get by thanks to Dutch. Mary-Beth’s face had turned a bright red as she turned away from Arthur’s gaze, her mind racing to find the appropriate response.

“Y-you dance very well, Mr. Morgan, I had a wonderful time.” “ _Stupid! Why did you use his last name, he is going to think you had a terrible time!”_ Was there anything this man wasn’t good at? Sure she hadn’t danced with many men, but he had definitely been as graceful, if not more than Dutch. It had taken her breath away, she never expected him to accept the dance, much less be a skilled dancer.

She had only been with the gang for a couple months, but she clearly remembered when she came to join them. She had spotted Arthur in the saloon, he was handsome, big ( _good, he will be slow to react_ ), drunk, and looked to be an easy target. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Striking up a conversation with him she looked for the opening as the night progressed and he drank more, coyly avoiding drinks herself. She saw her opening when he reached an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close to whisper in her ear just how pretty he thought she was. His skin against hers was hot, he was heavy, she worked quickly, snaking her hand into the satchel on his hip.

His breath was hot on her neck,“Now princess, that ain’t very nice.” She hadn’t felt him move, but his hand closed around her wrist still in his bag. Her head flew and her eyes locked with his, there was no malice in his eyes, but they were hard and cold. His previous drunken playfulness was gone. She tried to pull her arm back, but he held his grip, the pressure wasn’t enough to hurt her, but more than enough to prove his point. He turned back to the bartender, ordering two more drinks.

“What’s your name, miss?” His hand had not moved, and to the causal patron these two were getting friendly at the bar. His free arm still around her shoulder, pulling her to his chest in mock affection. She was too scared to answer, it had been a long time since she had misread a target this badly. Doing her best to mask her fear, if he had wanted to draw attention he would have.

“Mary-Beth” it came out shakier than she had intended.

“Well Mary-Beth, I’m Arthur Morgan, and I’m going to release your hand, but you should really be more careful when you try and steal from someone. Not everyone is as forgiving as me, but I’m a sucker for a pretty face.” His voice was soft, so no one but they were able to hear this. His gaze was locked on whiskey on the bar, only briefly breaking it away when he released her wrist to see her reaction.

She pulled her hand back slowly, but let him keep his arm around her shoulders, curious about this man who hadn’t publicly called out her attempt to rob him.

“Mr. Morgan, if I can be so forward…” her voice barely above a whisper as she pressed herself closer to his side in mock affection, “I’m not that kind of girl if you’re expecting to blackmail me to keep you from exposing my hustle.” Her lips were practically in his ear, and he couldn’t help but smirk.

_“Good girl, so young, but good on the fly.”_ His head tilted to touch hers, voice low and gravelly, “You know, sometimes it’s good to have someone watch your back, I may be able to offer some protection for someone in your line of work.”

It would have been a lie to say that he had convinced her that having someone to answer to was preferred. It had been more childish than that. Her stomach flitted with butterflies, she felt the coil in her center. This man, was unlike anyone she had met before, outlaw or dignitary. He was dangerous, she knew it, but she didn’t feel the malice she usually felt in dangerous men. She followed him into the night out of pure curiosity, and it had been one of the best decisions she had made. She had never realized how lonely it was on her own, but here she had family.

It was those same feeling that overtook her tonight, seeing yet another thing this man was secretly good at, whether he saw it or not. Her hand still resting in his, she pulled it away slowly before closing the distance he had created between them.

Wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. “Thank you, Arthur!” her words muffled by his shirt, “For everything you’ve done for me. You are a good man, despite what you may think.”

Arthur’s arms wrapped around her, “I’m sure any of the boys would have done better during that dance, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Resting his head on top of hers, he gave her a squeeze and released his grip. Worried she may get the wrong idea if he held the hug too long.

She held him tightly, looking up to catch his eye, “Don’t do that, don’t pull away, please?” Her eyes pleaded, he met her gaze and she saw the sadness there, the longing. “I love you, Arthur…” the words slipped out, barely more than a whisper against his chest. His chest tightened, how had he been so blind. He wrapped his arms around her again. Pulling her into a tight hug, his head resting on top of hers, his lips pressed to her head.

“I can’t believe you fell for an old fool like me…” peppering the crown of her head with soft kisses, he closed his eyes and relished the moment. This…felt nice, and he would be lying if it wasn’t what he wanted.


End file.
